Interesting Lion King Facts That Will Bring Smiles To Your Face

Wow I love Lion King More

Remember when Mufasa asks Zazu what he should do with Scar? Zazu replies, “He’d make a very handsome throw rug.”

It looks like someone at Disney thought this was a great idea. In 1997’s Hercules, Scar makes a not-so-subtle cameo in the form of a throw rug.

The First Banishment

Photo Credit: El Legado de Simba

When the creators of The Lion King were first developing the script, they were going to have Scar banish Nala from Pride Rock for ignoring his romantic advance.

She was going to leave Pride Rock and discover Simba, Timon, and Pumba. Disney abandon this storyline to make the movie more kid-friendly.

Casting Switcheroo

Photo Credit: Pop Crush

When casting directors were first thinking about who would voice the hyenas, they wanted to hire Cheech & Chong. Cheech accepted the role, but Tommy Chong was unavailable.

Tommy’s role was changed into a female hyena, Shenzi, who was voiced by Whoopi Goldberg. We think she did a pretty good job.

Not Quite Prepared

Photo Credit: Corpsecreate / YouTube

Voice actor Jim Cummings replaced Jeremy Irons for the finale of “Be Prepared.” Irons messed up his voice while performing the line, “You won’t get a sniff without me!”

Without that crescendo, the rest of his recording just didn’t sound powerful enough, so Jim stepped in to save the day.

The Lone African Accent

Photo Credit: Disney-Planet

Even though the whole movie takes place in the Africa savannah, Rafiki is the only character in the film who has an African accent and speaks Swahili from time to time.

All of the other characters are either American or British. Actually, only Scar is British, because evil characters are always British.

Ouch

Photo Credit: Pridelands

During the scene where Simba gets pinned down by Nala, The voice actor who played young Simba, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, was actually smacked on the back to make it sound like he had the wind knocked out of him.

He must not have been that good at acting like he got hit.

Hello, Mickey!

Photo Credit: Animalia-life

In the scene where Mufasa tells Simba about the Great Kings of the Past, you can see Mickey Mouse if you look at the stars in the wide shot.

The Disney animation team loves to hide little easter eggs like that in their films. Stay on the lookout for more of them.

A Little Improv

Photo Credit: Cartoon Movies / YouTube

Nathan Lane, the iconic Broadway actor who voiced Timon in The Lion King, ad-libbed the line, “What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?” Yes, Nathan. That is precisely what we want you to do.

This might be my favorite scene in the whole movie.

James Earl Jones Almost Didn’t Play Mufasa

Photo Credit: Imgur

Liam Neeson was considered for the role of Mufasa before James Earl Jones accepted the part. I honestly cannot imagine anybody but James Earl Jones voicing Mufasa, and I’m so glad that they brought him back for the live action remake.

The Lion King just wouldn’t be The Lion King without him.

Claws Out, Scar!

Photo Credit: Odyssey

All of the lions in the original cartoon movie have their claws retracted for most of the film. Scar is the only character who has his claws out all the time. It’s almost like he’s incapable of retracting them.

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